Truckers: Heading Towards Extinction or Evolution? | Automation in the road transport sector is often touted as an imminent revolution. According to an article by Filipe Dimas on MSN, autonomous trucks already cruising highways to deliver goods signal a paradigm shift where human presence is becoming less necessary on board.
“We already see it: autonomous trucks are making long journeys on highways to deliver goods,” he writes. “While nowadays there is still a person in many trucks in case of AI failure, it is becoming less and less necessary for truckers to drive all night to make a timely delivery across the country. As autonomous driving technology improves, the traditional trucker may face the same fate as the assembly line worker.” (translated by AI)
However, this vision of total automation overly simplifies the complexity of transitioning to fully autonomous vehicles, which raises multiple logistical, ethical, and legal challenges.
Experts suggest that while technological advances promise to reduce costs and accidents and increase efficiency, the reality on the ground remains complex. According to a study by Stanford University, autonomous technology still has major hurdles to overcome to reliably manage unpredictable and varied road conditions. Moreover, truckers do much more than just drive; they also handle the loading and unloading of goods, vehicle maintenance, and real-time adjustments necessary during deliveries—tasks that are difficult to fully automate.
Finally, the role of truckers may not disappear but evolve. According to a report by the American Trucking Associations, it is likely that truckers will work in tandem with autonomous technologies for more specialized functions such as system monitoring and logistics management. This technological coexistence could not only maintain human employment but also improve working conditions by reducing long driving hours, while still retaining human expertise for critical decisions and emergency management, as stated in the report.
These perspectives indicate that, far from making truckers obsolete, technological advancements could actually transform the profession, requiring ongoing adaptation and retraining of workers to navigate this new landscape of road transport. And this future is not just around the corner…
